Felt and method of making



Sept. 28, 1937. Ea. FREYER 2,094,148

FELT ND METHOD OF MAKING Filed July 2o, 1955 @2M ff INVENTOR ATTORNE S Patented Sept. 28, 1937 UNITED ASTATES y.2,094,148 FELT ANDMETHOD oF MAKING Bela Freyer, Newburgh, N. Y., assignor to American Felt Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Massachusetts ApplcationJuly 2.0, 1935, Serial No. 32,451

3 Claims.

. This invention relates to felts and their manufacture. 4 More particularly the invention relates to felts and the process of making them in which a figure or color combination is produced in the felt by the assembling and uniting of different pieces during the formation of the felt.

- Prior to my invention numerous efforts have been made to provide surface decoration on felts. Thus felts have been printed, painted, embroidered, embossed, perforated and decorated in various other ways. Unfortunately, however, none of these is entirely satisfactory; especially because the wear to which thev decorated surface is subjected tends to remove at least part of the surface decoration before the felt is otherwise worn suiciently to impair its usefulness.

, It is an object of my invention, therefore, to provide, by a novel method, a felt which is deco- `rated by a figure or color contrast which is formed in the structure -of the felt itself, and therefore, `will remain substantially throughout the useful life of the felt.

In the accompanying drawing I have shown Vseveral embodiments of my invention. These have been chosen for purposes of illustration and with a view to explaining my invention so that .those skilled'in the art may` apply it in innumerable forms according `to varying requirements .andcircumstances It is to be understood, therefore, that the invention is not limited to the particular forms illustrated. .I 1

In Fig. `1, Inhave shown `in plan view a waiile pattern ,made according to my invention.

Fig. `2 is a cross section taken online 2--2 of Figi. ,Y

Fig. 3 is a `showing a slightly modified form.

f Fig. 4 is'a view similar to Fig. 1 of an expandedv lath pattern madey according to my inyention. ,Y

Fig. 5 is Aa plan view illustrating one way of `forming the pattern of Fig. 4.

Figs. 6 and 7 are similar cross section views of a part of a patternusing three diiferent layers ofmaterial shown respectively as initially assembled and as finally completed, and,

,'Fig. Blis a cross section View similar to Figs. 2, 3, and '7, showinganother embodiment of the invention. K y s I. Referringfirst to Fig. 1, thepattern there illustrated is made up .of a perforated surface layer I ,0 and an under` layerl Lexposedthrough the perforations .[2 of the layer I0. These layers l0 and Il are integrally unitedwith'each other by flelting vthem together, and, in the cases illuscross section similarto Fig. 2, but

trated in Figs. 2 and 3, are similarly united with a third base layer I3.

The pattern may be formed. either by color contrast, in which case the layers Ill and II are of different colors or of texture contrast, in which case the layers I0 and Il are preferably of different materials, i. e., of different types of fiber, or the pattern may depend entirely upon differences in level, as in the case of an embossed material, in which case the layers Ill and II may be of identical stock. Even in this case, however, a difference in texture ordinarily will appear due to the fact that the trimming of the loose fibers at the surface of the finished fell?. will, unless special care is taken to prevent it, be closer on Athe high areas of the layer I0 than on the lower areas of the layer I I, and thus, the lower figure areas will give the appearance of a soft loose texture while the surface of the layer I0 between the figures will appear harder and denser.

A striking and desirable texture contrast may also be produced by making either the perforated layer I0 or an exposed under layer Il or I5 (Figs. 6 and '7) of a textile fabric (textile, knitted, etc.) The textile fabric in suchcase is felted with the adjacent felt layer during the pulling and/or hardening operations and if the'fabric layer is perforated :this felting operation will `sofsecu're the thread end in the perforations as `to prevent any fraying of the edges.

If a color contrast is or both layers may be dyed at any stage before they are joined, or'the layers Il]` and l'l may be made of stocks which have different dyeing prop- .erties, in which case the completed felts. may be cross dyed, e. g., by the processes well known in the cross dyeing of textiles. In this way the surface layer III may be made to take up one color and the under layer II to `takenp another color, and if desired, the base layer `I3 may be of a stock which takes up either of these colors, or by making it of a different type of stock it may be given a third color.

. Since the several layers of which `the felt is composed lare united by IeIting, obviously these K layers will be put through at least the final stages of the felting process after theyfhave been assembled. According vto the preferred process embodying my invention, the several layers of felt desired the stock of one are -rst formed and partially hardened bythe usual Vfelting processes. At least one of 'these layers is perforated by punching out the areas which form the gure or pattern.v These layers are then assembled as will )be obvious from the The different layers may also be at different" stages of hardening when they are assembled.

If it is desired to soften and blend the outlines of the pattern, the layer I0 will be softer when it` is assembled than if a pattern with a sharp outline is desired. If a relatively smooth and level surface is desired in the nished felt, this may be achieved by using a softer or more slippery stock for either or both of the layers I0 and I I; and, as already stated the layer I Il will be relatively hard or soft dependingupon the sharpness of the delineation desired of the figure.A

These effects depend upon the type of stocks used as well as upon the degree of hardening. If, for example, a hard wool felt stock is being used, it will have less tendency to spread laterally during the final felting operation than would a more slippery stock like camels hair, and accordingly, the preliminary hardeningv need not be carried so far as with the more slippery stock.

The fiber length or staple is also important in controlling this lateral spreading and especially for giving strength to the partially formed felt to hold the figure formed by perforation during the subsequent steps by which it is united with the under layers.

Because the combining of the layers is effected at a later stage than in the ordinary processes of felt manufacture it is desirable to choose the types of wools and raw materials that will give the bonding and combining of the materials. This, of course, becomes more important the harder is the felt of the assembled layers. Thus, the choice of materials is more important where sharp delineation and embossed effects are desired, than where softer felts can be combined.

With these additional considerations and limitations the stock chosen for the various layers in the felt of my present invention may be chosen upon considerations well known in the art.

In Fig. 4, I have shown an expanded lath pattern. This may be made in the same manner as already described in connection with Fig. l, that is, byY punching out from a sheet of partially formed felt the areas in which the under layer is to show through to the surface. This pattern, however, may be made with greater economy of stock by merely slitting the partially formed felt, e. g., as shown in Fig. 5, and then stretching the stock so as to extend the slits into wider openings, as shown in Fig. 4. This pattern is representative of numerous patterns which can be made by slitting and stretching the stock without actually punching out any part of the stock. This method of forming the desired figures is, of course, included within the meaning of the terms perforate and perforation, as used in this application.

In some cases it may be desirable to form more elaborate figures than are possible with the simple two color structures discussed in connection with Figs. 1 to 5. In Figs. 6 and '7, I have shown one method by which a three color pattern may be made. In this case, there are two perforated layers IU and I5. The perforations of the layer I0 are designed to expose a part of the layer I5 and in part to register with perforations of layer I5 to expose the layer II. When these are united by the subsequent felting operation the distinctive colors or textures of the three layers, I0, I5 and II will all appear at the surface, thus making possible a more complex gure than with the two layers as shown in the other figures.

As shown in Fig. 6, it is desirable where more than one perforated layer is used to cut the face layer so that it overhangs slightly the edges of any under layer on lines where the intermediate perforated layer is not intended to show. Thus, as shown in Fig. 5, the subsequent felting operation may unite the face layer I0 directly with the K under layer II over the undercut edge of the intermediate layer I5.

The number of colors and textures used in the surface decoration may be increased in other ways. Thus, for example, the under layer Il may be pieced together from strips of different stock or differently colored stock, e. g., as indicated by the broken lines 20 on'Fg. 4, and these stocks may be combined during the initial felting operation before the assembling of the layers III, II, etc., or they may be pre-formed, as already described, and assembled at the same time as the layers I il, II, etc., are assembled with one another. The figure of the face layer I0 in this case is preferably designed so as to cover the border between the different pieces in the under layer II, but in some cases such border may be taken advantage of as a part of the completed pattern.

The surface layer also may be pieced together from different kinds of or differently colored materials, and the perforations or openings through which the under layer or layers appear may be gaps left between adjacent pieces instead of perforations cut in the pieces which comprise the surface layer.

In Fig. 8, I have shown another embodiment of my invention in which the figure appears solely as a contour effect with some difference in texture due to the closer trimming of the surface fibers on the higher portions than onthe depressed portion. In this case, the under layer Ila, instead of the face layer Illa, is perforated. As a consequence when the severalV layers are combined, depressions are formed in the face layer |00, where the perforations occur in the under layer Ila. In this case, however, the figure is less sharply defined.r and in general, therefore, it will be found more desirable to perforate the surface layer rather than the under layer.

Although in this specification and in the accompanying drawing I have shown and described in detail a preferred embodiment of my invention and various modifications thereof, it should be understood that this is not intended to be exhaustive or limiting, but on the contrary, I have chosen these illustrations and described them with a view to explaining my invention in principleand the possibilities for modification so that others skilled in the art may apply it in widely varying forms according to the particular conditions and requirements encountered.

What I Aclaim is:

1. Afigured felted fabric comprising a fibrous face layer having openings therein and a fibrous under layer exposed' at `the face through said openings, said layers being integrally united by felting together of their fibers, the under layer being at least as heavy at said openings as beneath said face layer, and the face and under layers being trimmed to the same level throughout regardless of the figure.

2. A figured felted fabric as defined in claim 1 in which the Weight of the under layer at the openings is less than equal to the combined layers at adjacent areas, and the face is trimmed to the same level throughout regardless of the figure, whereby the face of the under layer where it is exposed in the openings is of looser texture than the adjacent face layer.

3. A figured felted fabric as dened in claim 1 in which the material of the under layer has spread laterally into the openings in the face layer, whereby the fabric exhibits a substantially level surface, and the under layer is heavier at' said openings than under the face layer. f

BELA FREYER. 

